Rufus Barma
Rufus Barma (ルーファス バルマ, Ruufasu Baruma) is the leader and the Duke of the Barma Dukedom. History Though it is unknown what Rufus' life was like before Pandora, it is known he is in some way related to Miranda Barma and her brother Arthur Barma, who were both present at the Tragedy of Sablier. He became a member of Pandora at a rather young age and almost immediately contracted with the Chain of Glen Baskerville that the Barma house held, Dodo, hence his young appearance. Pandora Rufus Barma first appeared as an illusion, to keep himself protected as a Duke, and acted as Duchess Cheryl Rainsworth's valet, the two are known to be close friends and he fears her the way some people fear Sharon Rainsworth. When Barma finally revealed himself it was when he invited Oz, Alice, Break and Gilbert to his estate for a word, he was having tea with Cheryl when Liam Lunettes, his valet, brought them forth and he acted as her valet again while they battled his illusion. When Break destroyed the illusion Rufus dispatched him taking advantage of his weakened state. He wanted information from Break as information to him is power. That is when he learned of Break's past as Kevin Regnard, the failed knight who illegally contracted with the White Knight to get a second chance, although Rufus would have liked to arrest Break he did not, he just let them leave. The Seals of Glen Baskerville While much of Pandora traveled to Sablier to deal with the current issues, Rufus did some searching and he found Arthur Barma's book and discovered that Aurthur was the sole witness of the Tragedy of Sablier, meaning Barma's sister Miranda Barma was pulled into the Abyss, and that he was also one of the people who helped divide Glen Baskerville's soul into five seals, one went to Sablier, one to the Rytas estate to be guarded by descendants like Master Rytas and one went to Isla Yura, the other two's placing are a mystery but they are the reason Glen can't return, unless they are broken. After Sablier Oz, Alice, Gilbert and Sharon requested an audience with Rufus Barma again, he accepted and with Liam they met the great Duke. While discussing current issues such as the breaking of the first seal, Barma spoke ill of Break, who he was never fond of, which caused Sharon much discomfort even enough to stand up for Break, which caused Barma to summon Dodo to teach her a lesson in manners. She was saved by Gilbert and Raven but Rufus found their persistance inspiring and he sent them to another servant and close friend to the Barma home, Gruda Glooner where he would lead them to the Rytas estate to keep an eye on the Second Seal, which was later destroyed by the Head Hunter, along with Master Rytas, his valet Marie and Gruda. Second Coming of Age Ceremony When an acquaintance from his old home country, Isla Yura arrived to survey the situation with the Seals, Barma requested he come to his estate to discuss matters, in reality he planned Oz's arrival with his friends, as Yura is obsessed with Jack Vessalius and knows about Oz being the supposed reincarnation, and that Yura would permit them to go to his estate for a Second Coming of Age Ceremony as the first was interrupted by Zwei, Fang and Zai Vessalius. Yura accepted the opportunity and left, though Barma wasn't sure that Yura believed their ruse as Yura is more of the master planner than most people would think. Though Yura may know about Barma's ruse, Rufus was now allowed to do what he had planned as he knows that Yura has one of the three remaining seals, so the real mission was to send Pandora members to search for the seal. He planned everything and even knew that the Baskervilles would once again appear at the Coming of Age Ceremony though this time looking for the seal. Barma himself could not come to the Coming of Age Ceremony. Aftermath Rufus is sitting on his chair and was going over the events that happen. A pager came and said that there was a package for him. It was from Yura himself. Cheryl was by herself at her office when Rufus came by and dropped a load of papers on her desk. She asked what all this about and Rufus said that it was all from Yura himself. Cheryl looked gravely at it. He received a letter stating that if he receives this then his pan for creating the tragedy came to a failure. Yura told Rufus of all he knows and how he was able to get this kind information. He was buying an mansion that was said to be haunted by a demon or it may misfortune to those who owns. He brought it out of curiosity. He then found the underground tunnel leading him to the sealing stone. It appears that the descendant of the sorcerer forgotten about the purpose of the whole thing and went to try to obtain the power from the Abyss. The information that laid on the table held a lot of information about the Abyss and what had happened 100 years ago. He wanted to see if it's true or a joke of some kind. He used Lady Nightray as a foothold to get into the four great Dukedoms. It was natural to say as Lady Nightray lost her son and her brother due to the headhunter and was not thinking straight. He created a cult with the money he gotten from people who was seeking a place where life would be grand. He approached Duke Nightray for support. The Duke Nightray was brand as the "traitor Duke" due to the reasons for the rebels and the conspiracy for the ruined Earldom. That is why they were conducting the research on chains to attain a rank. Duke Nightray agreed rather quickly to him. A pager came and interrupted the conversion for an important new. It appears that they have found Duke Nightray, but he was already dead by the time they got there. Cheryl and Rufus gathered the others to tell them of what had happen. It appears that Elliot couldn't have beheaded the Duke Nightray as his death was too recent and that Elliot was already dead. The others were shocked by this. They then began to noticed that if the person who is hunting the Nightrays and was beheading them then that person is the true headhunter. Another pager came and told them that Leo was abducted by Vincent Nightray. After a few days Rufus decides that Oz, Alice and Gil need a vacation, but only for one day, because of how Cheryl and Oscar have been reacting to their current state. As soon as their vacation ends Rufus plans on sending them back to work after the remaining two seals. The next day he and Cheryl are going through the Rainsworth gardens, laughing and having a good time after the series of miserable events that had just occurred. Rufus then tells Cheryl that Break had finally awoken after a week, to which she replies that he always knows things like that first. It was revealed that Rufus knows that Leo holds fragments of Glen's soul, this troubles him. It is later revealed that Rufus had located the last two Seals, one at Pandora's Headquarters, one in Earl Airy's territory, which he abandons and will allow the Baskervilles to destroy. He further states that the Baskervilles are gathering an army of Illegal Contracters and that Duke Nightray's Key to the Abyss is missing. Cheryl was recently found bloody and unconscious, and it's implied that Rufus had attacked her, possibly killed her, with Dodo as he is seen walking away covered in blood. Break then used Cheryl's thread, woven by Owl, which she had connected to Rufus so that h could always be found. Rufus, having lead the Baskervilles close to the Seal, is then attacked by Break. Rufus defends himself, and explains that he knows that Pandora will fall soon and so he wants to be on the winning side in order to keep the Barma name alive. Rufus and Break continued fighting, but it was not long before Break disarmed Rufus and pinned him against a nearby tree. The Fifth Sealing Stone breaks and Gil begins screaming as his true memories set in. Rufus chuckles as he notes that Glen's head must have been released from the Seal. Break is shocked to hear this, and Rufus explains that he had recently finished deciphering Arthur Barma's journal, which ended with his confession of Sealing Glen's body, and with that Barma tells Break that he now knows the truth about the Tragedy of Sablier and Jack Vessalius. Description Appearance Rufus's first appears as a round man with a big mustache wearing a big teacup shaped hat. Later, after getting destroyed by Break, it is revealed that the real Rufus created that illusion. The real Rufus has long red hair, an ahoge, tired looking eyes and speaks in olden-day Japanese. Personality Rufus is known as the longest living duke and is a very knowledgeable person. He holds information on almost all topics and even knows people's personalities and is thus able to predict their reactions. He is somewhat cold and heartless. He absolutely detests people changing without him knowing as then he would not have the most updated information. He angers Oz more often then he does Break. He acts as Cheryl's valet, and is seen to have a crush on her throughout the series, though it is noted that she does not feel the same way. Abilities and Powers Weapons: '''Rufus holds a sharp fan. '''Chain: In chapter 43, it is shown that he controls The Dodo and uses him to create illusions. Gallery Main article: Rufus Barma/Gallery Quotes *''"Just like you said, I want the information you have."'' - To Break *''"Step aside if you're not helping" -'' To Reim Lunettes *''"You are a lady. But since you have shown no respect when talking to your elders...let me, teach it to you, then."'' - To Sharon Rainsworth Chapter Appearences Trivia *He is the childhood friend of Cheryl Rainsworth, Sharon's grandmother, whom he fears as the way some characters fear Sharon. However, in the omake series titled, "Go Go!! Little Reim (Liam)!" it was shown that he made a young Reim deliver some love letters to her, and in another omake he explained that his reason for not having bodyguards or attendants is to be close to (and alone with) her. *He is based on the caterpillar from the Alice books. *In Retrace XLIII: Crown of Clown, it is shown that Rufus has a pet Lorikeet, a reference to the fact that a Lory took part in the Caucus Race in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. *He is called "Idiot Hair" by both Alice and Break, interestingly enough, Rufus called Isla Yura this as well in Retrace XLVIII. 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